Tropes and Schemes n Zeugma A figure of

Tropes and Schemes

n Zeugma: A figure of speech made when one part of speech (usually a verb, but sometimes a noun or adjective) is related to another part of speech in a way that is consistent in terms of grammar but incongruous in terms of meaning. q Someone sent me a t-shirt not long ago that read “Well-Behaved Women Don’t Make History. ” They don’t make good lawyers, either, or doctors or businesswomen.

n Polysyndeton: The repetition of conjunctions in a series of coordinate words, phrases, or clauses. q q We have ships and men and money and stores. I said, "Who killed him? " and he said, "I don't know who killed him but he's dead all right, " and it was dark and there was water standing in the street and no lights and windows broke and boats all up in the town and trees blown down and everything all blown and I got a skiff and went out and found my boat where I had her inside Mango Bay and she was all right only she was full of water. ”

n Asyndeton: Omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words q q We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival of liberty But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.

n Anaphora: Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines. q q Not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need – not as a call to battle, though embattled we are. “We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender. ”

n Periodic Sentence: Sentence whose main clause is withheld until the end q q To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the lovable cat scratched Sally.

n Cumulative Sentence: Sentence that completes the main idea at the beginning of the sentence, and then build and adds on q q The women moved through the streets as winged messengers, twirling around each other in slow motion, peeking inside homes and watching the easy sleep of men and women. The teacher considered him a good student, steady if not inspired, willing if not eager, responsive to instruction and conscientious about his work.

PRACTICE n "Duty, Honor, Country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying points: to build courage when courage seems to fail; to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith; to create hope when hope becomes forlorn. "

PRACTICE n "In years gone by, there were in every community men and women who spoke the language of duty and morality and loyalty and obligation. "

PRACTICE n "To raise a happy, healthy, and hopeful child, it takes a family; it takes teachers; it takes clergy; it takes business people; it takes community leaders; it takes those who protect our health and safety. It takes all of us. "

PRACTICE n n "You are free to execute your laws, and your citizens, as you see fit. " "But Ted Lavender, who was scared, carried 34 rounds when he was shot and killed outside Than Khe, and he went down under an exceptional burden, more than 20 pounds of ammunition, plus the flak jacket and helmet and rations and water and toilet paper and tranquilizers and all the rest, plus an unweighed fear. "

PRACTICE q q If the students do no study, if they do not participate in class, if they do not pay attention, they will not pass the class. Bells rang, filling the air with their clangor, startling pigeons into flight from every belfry, bringing people into the streets to hear the news.